Eagles sweep way to district crown

Bishop Shanahan’s volleyball team has had a season that is broken into three very distinct phases.

The Eagles successfully completed the first phase a few weeks ago when they finished off an undefeated championship season in the Ches-Mont League.

On Monday night, they concluded the second phase and, once again, it was a case of “Mission Accomplished.”

The mission was to win the District One Class AAA championship. The Eagles accomplished the mission with a 3-0 whitewashing of Ches-Mont League rival Downingtown East in the title showdown at William Tennent High.

Shanahan hit the gound running, built a big early lead in the opening set and finished with a 25-17 win. The Eagles followed with a 25-14 victory in the second set and then wrapped up the district title with a 25-16 win in the third set.

Two-ace, three-point service runs by Erika Smith and Haley Kleespies helped the Eagles jump out to an 8-1 lead in the first game. After that, the Cougars were running uphill for the remainder of the set. East closed to within two points at 13-11 but then Shanahan steadily pulled away.

“We knew we had to start strong,” said Smith. “That was our game plan -- start strong, serve tough and pass well. We knew that if we served tough and passed well, we could keep them out of system.”

In the second match, the score was knotted at 5-5 when Shanahan started to take over at the net.

The Eagles got big swings, a number of impressive kills and a lot of points from strong play at the net by Lauren Godshalk, Jenny Mynaugh, Katie Ibarguen and Nicole Lott. They closed out the second set on a six-point service run by Molly Truitt.

Shanahan benefitted from effective serving by all its players, especially Amanda Kelly, Truitt, Kleespies and Smith.

“We knew that if we didn’t serve well tonight, they’re going to pass and run their offense,” said Kelly. “We played very well tonight. It was a definitely a whole team effort.”

Downingtown East coach Peggy Hopton, whose team opens state play Wednesday against Cardinal O’Hara in a 7 p.m. match at South Philadelphia High School, said, “I don’t think they could play any better and we had one of our worst matches of the season. They played very well. They’re a strong team.”

For Shanahan’s players, it’s time to start the third phase of their season -- the quest for the state championship. The Eagles will return to William Tennent Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. match against Strath Haven, the fourth-place finisher from District 1.

“All three playoff games, we’ve jumped out strong,” said Shanahan coach Greg Ashman. “If we do that, we can deflate teams. We’re starting to play at another level now. It started when we played Pennsbury. We really took care of business. We did the same against Strath Haven and we kept the momentum tonight.”